Escape
by TwilightGirl753
Summary: There’s a world we don’t know about. A world where ordinary people, aren’t so ordinary… Danny,15, has a secret. Someone kidnaps her and other people just like her. Now,they must survive, and make their escape.
1. Chapter 1

"Bye Mom!"

As I said goodbye to my mom, I stepped out of my small home into the strange, mid-August heat with my backpack slung over my shoulder. The sun was shining and the air smelled of dewy grass and nearby forest. We were having a fairly clear end-of-the-summer in Redwood, Oregon, usually being such a dull place to be. I watched all the playing children in the streets; chasing each other with endless rounds of squeals and giggles. They had nothing to do since they didn't have school yet. I was on my way to River Valley High School. We had started school early this year and I had decided to walk, since we had this peculiar weather.

The sidewalk I strode on was coming apart, and had cracks in the places that were still walk able. _Good thing it hasn't rained in a while_, I thought sarcastically. It was unusual for Redwood to be without rain for a week, let alone a month. There were redwood trees everywhere, the trees that named our city. They towered over my head, but they comforted me.

It was a short walk to the school. As I made my way into the building, I saw the flags and posters with our "legendary" mascot, Bucky the Beaver, on it. Why did we have to have such a dorky mascot? I walked to my locker shaking my head, where I spotted Heather Whitley, my gorgeous-model-of–a-best-friend, waiting for me. It wasn't fair; she was tall, with beautiful periwinkle eyes, and wavy, waist-long hair the color of mocha. I considered my stick-straight brown hair and dull gray eyes. Not too bad, but what could I do, eh?

"There you are Danny! I've been waiting for you for, like, 10 minutes!" she said to me in her bubbly voice. I hadn't noticed the time, but she did. I glanced at the watch on my wrist; it said 7:56. Four minutes till class starts. Great.

"Come _on_. We're like, gonna be late for homeroom!" She dragged me half of the way there. We walked in just in time for Mrs. Williams, our Algebra teacher, to give us a warning glance. _Sorry_, I mouthed to her. She just shook her head and started the lesson. I parted with my friend, and made my way to the back of the room, where I sat down in my seat next to Benjamin Russell, an overly chatty kid who was hopeless in everything.

"Hi Danielle! I was just wondering where you were, because that wouldn't be good if you weren't here…"

"Hello Ben." I interrupted him, my voice dripping with indifference. Ben's always had a major crush on me ever since seventh grade. He never gives it up though, even if we're juniors. He continued to blabber on without hesitation. I had learned to tune it out, so I focused more on what Mrs. Williams had to say. There was an equation on the board and she announced that everyone needed to write it down, for notes. I shuffled through my chaotic binder and saw a piece of un-crumpled paper. I reached in to grab it, but another unruly sheet of paper sliced my finger on the way.

I sucked in a breath of air, desperate not to cry out. It hurt so much worse than _normal_ people; but then again, I had never experienced human pain. Could I do it here, right next to this boy? I had to. I couldn't draw attention to myself, if I squealed like a baby. I focused on the pain in my finger and my skin began to tingle. I knew my eyes would be turning a liquid silver color now. But the blood that trickled down my finger was a sapphire blue tear. Thinking fast, I sucked my finger and automatically, stopped the pain. I knew what I was, but nobody else did…

I have an explicit memory, but I couldn't remember how I'd gotten this unknown power. I thought back to the first week of my birth. After I was taken away was when _they_ did something to me, and that's all I can guess; that it was some type of surgery. But they did give me back to my mother. I _do_ relive the pain in that one week though. I was so small and weak, and I hurt everywhere. And then one day, I willed it to go away and, funny thing, it did.

Ever since then, I've been able to heal anyone or anything. I try to use it in emergencies only, but that usually escapes my mind whenever I saw someone in pain. This brings me back to the situation right now. The blood on my finger dissolved into my skin, so it now looks like a blue marker stain. My dilemma over, I listened to the teacher until the end of class.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I went through my classes just like any day. At lunch, I sat with my usual group: Heather, of course, her boyfriend Keith, a popular girl named Kathy, Heather's jock friend Nick, and the twins, Sammy and Stephen. All good people, but nobody I could really talk to. Heather was my only true friend. The others are nice enough, but I'm a "social outcast", for obvious reasons. I like to keep to myself.

When the school day was done at 2:30, and it being a Friday, Heather invited me over but I declined, knowing she could wait a day or two. I told her I was going on a nature walk and that she should come along, to which she replied, "Me? On, like, a _nature_ walk? No way not in these heels! Come on, you should know this by know!" She said ruffling my hair. She was teasing but I said it was okay, smoothing my hair down. I understood; I was always going off in the woods to look at all the flora and fauna, doing alone things like that.

I said my goodbye to Heather as she climbed into her dad's black Lexis waiting at the curb. I waved to her dad, Dave, and he waved back. As they pulled out of the school grounds, I zipped open the front pouch of my messenger bag and pulled out my cell phone. Flipping it open, I pressed speed dial number 3 and "talk."

I waited until I heard the last ring, as I knew my mother always did too, and soon enough, my mother was on the line.

"Bonjour! Je m'appelle Christy!" She answered in her sing song voice. I smiled at her greeting; she was always using different welcomes when she answered the phone.

"Hi Mom. I was going walking again today, that okay?" I knew the answer though.

"Oui mon ami! Of course you can go! The same place you went last time right?"

"Yep, same as last time. I'll call you when I'm coming home, 'kay?" I asked.

"Sure, sure! Okay well then have fun! Au revoir!" I said goodbye too and snapped my phone shut with a smile on my face. Then I slipped it into the pouch and slung my bag across my shoulder.

There was a slight breeze, like a soft whisper on my skin. I pulled out the light hoodie I kept in my bag at all times and zipped it on. I was by the forest now and it was buzzing with life; a frog croaked in a nearby pond, and birds sang in the low sunlight. I looked for a place to sit, under the redwood canopy, but made sure I could see the road. Just being careful for whatever might happen. But in Redwood, that was unlikely.

Leaning against the giant trunk of a tree, I gazed out in the forest. The leaves were rustling with the wind and I saw a red squirrel scamper up a tree. A beam of sunshine crossed my face. Everything seemed pretty peaceful to me. I closed my eyes for a second and listened to it all. Ahh…

When I opened my eyes, I realized I must have taken a nap. I shot up from my resting area, alarmed to see the sky was a soft pink. I glanced at my watch: 5:23pm. I grabbed my stuff and was about to take off when I heard a noise. Stopping dead in my tracks, I turned to see what it was I heard. Silence. And then I heard it; a pitiful wail, like that of an animal. A deer maybe? It sounded hurt and I was torn between going home, and saving this poor thing's life. I decided to do the right thing and help the little guy.

The animal cried out again, this time a little louder, as if he could read my thoughts. I dropped my stuff and ran towards the noise. I knew I could save him with my power, if I could just find him first. The cry came again and all I saw were blurred trees as I ran. Searching and searching, until I had to stop and breathe. It wailed once more and I shrieked to myself, "Where are you? I can't help you if you don't tell me where the heck you're hiding!" Walking now, it gave one last wail, louder than I'd ever heard him. This time, I knew I was close. I slowed down to a gentle jog.

There was a huge redwood tree in front of me, so large that it probably was the biggest tree in the woods. That's where it was, I knew it! I steadily walked around the tree's trunk, careful not to surprise the helpless animal.

But when I turned the corner, there was no deer. Not even an animal of any sort. I threw my hands up in frustration and slumped down the side of the tree, it's tough bark grating into my hoodie. Where was it? But then a thought popped into my head. Was there even an animal to begin with? I pondered over that, deciding it was probably a bird, maybe an owl or something. Now I was probably late for din…

"I know your secret Danny. And now I've got you."

I didn't look over my shoulder to see who the dark, smooth voice belonged to. I just had time to see the giant shadow raise something- a piece of wood maybe- over his head and swing it into the back of my head.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

When I gained consciousness again, the first thing I made real was the pain. Oh, the pain was so _real_; I couldn't make out anything except the pain. It was all in my head, where he clubbed me. It was like a headache but only one hundred times worse. I tried to use my healing, but I knew it couldn't kill the pain entirely. As my skin began to prickle, I could already feel the throbbing reduce. It subsided to where I could think again, and a protective instinct swam over me. There was no light; only a pitch black darkness swelling over me. Why were my wrists bound? Where was I?

"We're in a van."

I jumped up instantly form where I was crouching and hit my head on the ceiling of what supposedly was a van. Another deep voice, I thought to myself in horror, though it sounded almost child-like.

"That's because I'm 16." The voice said again. Was I talking out loud? I thought for sure I had been saying this in my head. Confused, I tried to rub my temple but remembered my hands were tied. Deciding to confront this guy, I called out hesitantly into the blackness, "Who…who are you?"

He didn't reply at first, and I was immediately suspicious. I waited impatiently, wondering if he even had a name. I guess he did.

"My name is…" and another moment of silence, "Drake."

"Sure. Tell me your _real_ name." He didn't fool me for a second.

"Conner." he said simply. He said it the instant I had caught on to his little game.

_Well, well_, I thought to myself, _he _does_ have a name_. Who knew?

"And I'm sure you do too." He said again. How could this guy do that, just finish my sentence like we were having a conversation, when we obviously weren't?

"Because I can read minds." He answered to my thought.

Whoa.

Okay, what did he just say? I thought I was the only one, the only being with powers. Well, _power_ but still. I closed my eyes to the dark, just to find more empty blackness. I sighed. First off, I had to know where we were going. But I doubt he knew that.

"So, _do_ you have a name?" He asked, probably smirking. I wish I could slap it off now.

"Danny." I replied icily. I wanted to keep it simple too.

Just then, he stood up, or at least I think he stood up. It felt like he was coming towards me and I stepped backwards, only to fall flat on my back.

"Hey!" a small voice yelped. I automatically picked myself up, stepping forward again.

"Who is that?" I squeaked. Surely there couldn't be more people on this cramped van? But then again, anything could happen.

"My name's Jade, and I'm nine years old and I can talk to animals and…." _Now_, anything's possible. She's a freak like us _and_ she's like Benjamin Russell. Just then, the boy, and I just couldn't call him Conner yet, whispered:

"We should probably leave her alone now Jade."

With that I tried to get to the edge of the van so I could sit down again. Groping along the wall, I found an empty space and sank into a crouch, exhaustion taking over my sore body. I had to think here_. By myself thank you very much_, I said in my mind. Knowing this kid, which I didn't, he would probably be reading my mind all the time. Trusting that he'd leave me alone, I went off thinking.

Okay, so we're probably in the middle of nowhere, driving with an insane psychopath probably bringing us to our deaths. Nice. Also, the little girl Jade can talk to animals, while this Conner can read minds. And of course there's me, the healer girl sitting with them. I heaved a great sigh, not caring enough that they could hear me. Maybe now would be a great time to take another nap, this time without being clubbed in the head. But I haven't the foggiest idea where we are going or what my fellow passengers look like either. _Great_, I thought sleepily.

Suddenly, a warm hand pressed against my forehead and my thoughts became dreamy. What was weirder was that I didn't feel the urge to snap the hand away. And then it all came into my head. I could see faces, faces I couldn't name. Yet, they had a familiar look to them, like I knew them or something. The first face was a boy, roughly 17 with long, shaggy dark brown hair covering his face. He had these strangely comforting blue eyes, as blue as a lightning bolt. I couldn't look away from his handsome face…

But then the face changed to a little girl, her face dark tan like she'd played in the sun too long. She had streaming black curls running down her face, coming up to her chin. The little girl had green eyes, like the color of a jade. She was so precious looking; I couldn't get enough of her either. But everything around both of them was fuzzy, as if there were not enough light.

The hand gently came off my forehead then, but my dreamy like state didn't fade. As my eyes closed, and my shoulders slumped in exhaustion, I realized that those faces belonged to the others known as Jade and Connor.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

This time, I woke to a noise of squealing brakes and a train wreck of shouting. Doors slammed and I heard the rough bark of an order from _him_. I snapped my head up and stood woozily, moving to what should be the back of the van. I almost fell, but a strong pair of hands lifted me up and shoved me against the wall. I felt around for Jade, filling a need to keep her safe, as we prepared to face what lay ahead of us.

"Just stay calm and don't say anything,"

That was Conner speaking and I could hear the edge in his voice, almost an icy rage. Jade grabbed my hand, so trusting and kind, and whimpered. I squeezed her small hand and patted her curly locks. I braced myself for the cool blackness of night. But then the doors were opened and a burst of sweltering heat and sun blinded me. I shut my eyes tight, seeing the neon colors in my head. Five men stepped in when I opened my eyes again, and the van sunk about five inches. Huge men, bristles clinging to their grungy faces, grabbed my arm and hauled me out into the dazzling sun. Jade's hand was ripped from my grasp and I heard a shout of struggle from Conner.

Automatically the rough material on my wrists grated into my skin. I twisted my head around to find Conner or Jade but my attention was grabbed by another van pulling up alongside us. _Probably more henchmen_, I thought with vile in my throat. An extra man swung open the doors, with a little more enthusiasm needed to open a door, to his buddies. There were more grotesque men that came out, but to my horror, there were people attached to them. Not literally attached, but they had kids with them!

Three more kids of various ages came out of the van. Straining my head back, I caught Conner's look of astonishment, very non-expressive but it was there. I refocused my gaze on the three prisoners. They obviously had powers, being why we were all here, but I couldn't tell them right off the bat.

The first boy was a child about the age of 8. He had stringy black hair and russet brown skin. I couldn't see his eyes, but he shouted in a Native language, obviously a curse of some sort. Again, I couldn't tell his power, so I turned to the next kid. He was probably my age, maybe a year or two behind me. He had creamy skin and dark blonde hair, but what caught my attention was what was bonded behind his bare back. Under the scathing rope, I could see why he had it all around him.

The boy had _wings_.

Not like the wings on angels, or the ones on butterflies, but like those of a, well I don't know what type of wings. But they were definitely wings, no doubt about it. They were inky black, with hints of champagne streaks in them. And they hung limp and damp, as if they really were inked. They came in long strands of feathers; I guess you could call them that. Like the first time I saw Conner's face, I couldn't look away.

A blood curdling scream shattered the stillness in the air. I almost gave myself whiplash I turned my head so sharply. I found out who did it. The third person that had come out of the car was a girl. She was definitely my age, with crystal clear blue eyes and white blonde hair. She had slightly tan skin, like she went to a pool and sunbathed every day. The mascara running down her perfect face came in shadowy streaks.

Still, she held her head up high, and had enough courage to look at me. The instant she bore her gaze into mine, I saw a look that told me to bow down and worship her. I kept my gaze steady, not averting my eyes an inch from her lovely face. Just then, the men handling her pushed her forward and she could no longer stare me down. But I had a feeling it wasn't entirely the men's fault.

I was being pushed along now, and not un-gently either. I tripped a few times trying to keep up the pace the man was forcing me to do. All he did was haul me to my feet every time. I was now bumbling next to the winged-kid. I noticed how graceful he walked, even with his hands and wings tied together and immediately tried to fix my posture. This ended up with my face in the dirt.

Heat flooding my cheeks, I was tugged up yet again by the henchmen's grimy hands. I continued walking with my normal stature. I peeked over at the boy, irked at his strange movement. I had to know his name though.

"What's your name kid?" I asked my voice dry and cracked like the desert I was walking on. I had said this quietly, so maybe the men would think I'm babbling to myself. The bird-kid noticed though.

"Shay." He coughed, trying to disguise his voice. I'm sure the oafs wouldn't be smart enough to figure it out though.

"Danny." I coughed back. I felt one of the hands holding me tighten, and I coughed a couple more times to prove I was really coughing. _Might have to watch that one_, I thought.

While we continued to stumble, or rather, as _I_ continued to stumble, I wondered where we were going anyway. I couldn't see any path beneath my feet and there was only a giant hill in front of us. Where could they be possibly taking us? I looked ahead at Conner, leading the group. He glanced back at me and shrugged. Should've known he was listening.

We were climbing the hill now, and I was practically dragged to the top. Before I got there though, I saw Conner stop dead in his tracks. Oh no, that could only mean one thing; we _were_ being sent to our dooms. But as I straggled up to the top, I, too, had to stop and shake my head at what I saw. Could I be hallucinating? We were out in the middle of a desert! Were we really going to die in a woodland jungle?


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Never before had my eyes deceived me, but when I gazed upon the lush forest, I wasn't so sure. How, in the middle of the desert, could there be this woodland? I blinked a couple times and tried to clear my head. I guess I had to take it in; I couldn't see anything further out in the desert, the rest being forest. But it wasn't like the redwood forests I was used to. From this distance, I could already make out the paper birches, their white bark standing out from the green. I could also see the many leaves of alder trees and pines.

The men holding me pushed me down the steep hill, my legs giving out in a moment. The hard ground scraped my already bruised knees, and the men had had it.

"Get up, girly. We're not getting paid to raise your skinny hide from the ground every time you go down and fall," one of the men burst out in a muffled English accent. He wasn't done though. "Now, the next time we have to drag your sorry butt around here, well, you'd better watch out, savvy?" And no, I was not _savvy_ with that at all. I figured I'd better watch my feet from now on though.

We were on flat land now, and as we walked towards the unruly woodland, I realized we could maybe make it out okay. Once again, my outlook on things went wrong. As we came up to the forest, I could already see what lay ahead of us.

Trees sprouted up in all different ways, and the trail, if that _was_ a trail, was covered in slippery moss. Where all the moisture came from puzzled me. I could see logs of all shapes and sizes strewn all around. _This is not going to be easy_, I thought. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Conner had, once again, read my thoughts. His head shook with laughter, and he probably thought he wouldn't slip at all, the cheek of the guy. Well, _I_ knew I'd be slipping on everything; the dew soaked logs, the slick grass that covered the entire forest floor, and probably even the prickly thorns that crossed my gaze.

They pushed us through all the same. I heard a high pitched squeal. _Wonder who that could be_. Sarcastic then, I hoped Conner heard that. This time he fully cracked up. He had such a nice laugh, natural and joking. I smiled too, though I wondered why I suddenly wanted to impress him. A gruff voice struck him across the face saying, "What's so funny boy? You'd better stop it before _I_ do something funny." And with that, Conner stopped laughing but not before sending me a look obviously mocking the man.

I realized why I had thought of all this in the first place. I looked to find the girl who had so plainly squealed. I couldn't find her at first. But then I looked down at the ground and found her perfect face in the dirt too. I smirked to myself, but she was the only girl here my age, so I knocked it off.

We'd been walking for hours now, only stopping when the men got tired, which was not frequent, to my dismay. My legs were sore and I was sure to have blisters on my feet when I took my shoes off. _If_ I took my shoes off. When they did sit down though, all the kids were tied to trees. But we were fairly close together and I learned more about the other captives.

Shay was even more interesting when we talked to him, tied to our trees. He told us more about his wings, which were now more crumpled than ever. He could soar almost 10,000 ft in the air, he told us strongly. And although his wings were so weak and limp, I'm sure they were very powerful and strong when he flew. He didn't know how he got them though, as with everybody else.

The little Indian boy, who I learned was Navajo, was named Dakota, which he proudly said meant "friend". And to my immense surprise, he also was telepathic. Great, another mind reader. Dakota gallantly explained, with his head held as high as it could, that he was very popular. In his village that is. There, he was treated as a prince, or whatever it is in Native America. His father had been just an American country man, traveling the world. But he came to the tribe, just passing through, when he saw Dakota's mom, whose name is too hard to say. Anyway, everybody in his village knows his secret; he told everyone right from the start and that's why he is "royalty." No wonder these men found out about him...

I also learned a lot about the prissy girl. Her name was Claire Everglade and she sure let us know it. Apparently her dad was some fancy lawyer, with tons of money, which is how I summed it up. She certainly looked the part; her hair, even clouded with mud, was perfectly straight and her teeth were the brightest white I'd ever seen. Of course she was gorgeous, and she reminded me of Heather, although Heather was much more kind. And it just so happened, that _was_ her skill. Not looking beautiful, but actually being able to change the way she looked. She even showed us.

She looked over her shoulder to make sure the "guards" weren't looking. Sure enough, one grizzly man was watching us form the corner of his eye, making sure we weren't planning anything. Our trees were in a circle, so we were all able to see and hear each other. The trees were spaced apart just so much, so that we couldn't get together and do something suspicious, like riot.

"Look me in the eye. Then you'll see my power." She said. We prepared for something to shoot out or do something along those lines, but nothing like that happened. As we all gazed into her crystal eyes, they looked like they were swirling. They went in a whirlwind of colors and finally, they landed on a dark brown, so we could tell the difference. Someone whistled softly, Dakota, I think.

"So your power is eye changing?" Conner remarked smartly. Claire then proceeded to bat her no longer dark eyelashes, fluttering them in a flirty way.

"That's not all I can do." She said, again flirtatious. Something told me, she liked guys _a lot_… Then her hair was the next thing to turn. She went from beach blonde, to a silky red-headed girl. Freckles appeared on her nose, and we watched as her eyes turned a soft green like the forest surrounding us. Jade, being naturally curious, asked her what her original self was like. And of course it was the beach blonde with the icy blue-pooled eyes. She switched back to normal then, with all her makeup newly restored on her thin face.

We went through everybody in the circle, they of course, not knowing of Conner, Jade and I. Jade told her story, breathless at the end trying to get everything out in a rush. I smiled at her when she finished. Then it was Conner's turn.

My breathless gaze clung to his face like ivy, and I listened to every word he said. He told us about his family, how he lived a fairly normal life like the rest of us, excluding Dakota of course. What surprised me was how close he actually lived to me. He lived in Oregon, in another small town named Green River, not even one hour away from me. _I wonder why I've never seen him before, but then again, even I keep a low cover on things_, I thought knowing even the best had to rest some time. Conner looked at me quickly, reading my mind apparently. I didn't mind it anymore really; it was kind of flattering in a way, choosing to read my mind and not Claire Everglade's. I saw Claire glancing at me from the corner of my eye, something I was getting better at. And her eyes were icier than ever. Hmm…

"Well, my, uhm…_power_," he struggled with that word, "is telepathy. And I'm a mind painter." We were silent then, wishing he would tell us what he meant. He obviously wasn't a talker. _Go on and tell us,_ I urged him silently pleading him in my mind. He glanced swiftly at me again, I mouthed the words "we're waiting", and he began.

"Well, obviously I can read minds. But I can also, paint from my mind?" He said this as a question. Did he not even know his own power? He must have heard that remark.

"What I mean is, I can visualize something in my mind and I can make it real. I mean, real on paper. Like ah, a drawing." He mumbled his whole explanation and the people around me looked at him in confusion.

"I think what he's trying to tell us, is that he can draw anything that's on his mind." I interpreted for them. "Why don't you show us?" I asked buoyantly. _Might as well explain it without opening your mouth._ He smiled at that.

"Fine, prepared to be amazed." He said without much confidence in his words. We watched cautiously, preparing to really, be amazed. There was silence in the air, but he looked troubled. Then his face got light and he closed his eyes.

A light came from my side view mirrors, as I now called them. I looked to see a strange glow coming from the bark of a nearby pine. Everyone turned their heads toward the tree, waiting. Out of nowhere, a flower appeared on the same tree. It was so life like; at first I wondered if he could make things appear in places. But as I studied the flower, I could see no shadows or 3-D shapes. He had literally tattooed a flower on the tree, with his mind.

Everyone's faces were awestruck, except for Everglade's, whose face masked a face of impolite boredom. I looked at Conner, whose eyes were alight with color. His blue eyes stood out more than ever.

"That's pretty!" Jade commented, her round face displayed with pleasure. I'm sure she would be bugging him to make more soon. Conner looked pleased with himself for the moment, having made Jade, and others, happy.

"So that's basically what I do." Dakota, Jade and Shay all had questions and all I heard was a muffled chatter. Conner still had something to say. "Hold on a second. Before we forget," he paused a moment, "we still need to know you're story." He looked at me expectantly, and the others followed. I could feel my face flush and I bit my lip. I quickly made an excuse.

"Aren't you going to answer their questions?" I asked, a pleading tone in my voice. Like Conner, I didn't like to draw attention towards myself.

"Oh, but we'd love to know about your _interesting_ life, wouldn't we?" I heard the vile sneer in Claire's voice and wondered what her problem was. My face heated again, and I could feel my neck creeping into a soft pink.

So I started my story. With great chagrin, I told all about my life. I stated where I lived, the high school I went to; anything that was somewhat interesting. I noticed that the only people listening were Conner, Jade and Shane. Dakota was staring off into space, while the princess was looking intently at Conner. I stopped then, ending it shortly with no conclusion, though the conclusion would've been that I was here, tied to skinny cherry blossom tree that was dying in the humidity.

Claire let out a huffed sigh and I could tell I had been babbling. I was quiet for a minute and then Claire sighed heavily again. I didn't know why she was so huffy, but then she threw her head back with another exasperated sigh and said, "Aren't you going to tell us your power? You know that's what everybody _else_ wants to know." She made it clear that she didn't care an ounce about what I did.

"Oh right." I said lamely. _Better just get this done with_, I encouraged myself. "Well, I can heal things." Way to go that sounded square. But I couldn't put it any plainer than that, so they'd just have to deal with it. I knew they would want to see it in action so I forewarned myself to get ready.

"I might as well show you. No use trying to weasel out of it." I said more to myself. I decided what to heal because I certainly wasn't in pain greatly, and nobody else was. I could sense only one dead thing. I searched the ground and found crinkled brown leaves around me.

"Umm, since nobody here is considerably hurt, I'll be heal-"

"How do you know if anyone's not in pain. I think I feel my hands beginning to bruise. Why don't you heal me?" Claire said, obviously wanting more attention then she already had. I smirked at her and rebutted, "Well, your hands aren't bruising, but your attitude could use some TLC." Conner snorted and Shay gave me a shy smile. Claire, though, fixed me with a look that showed absolute hatred. Her piercing blue eyes had taken a twist and began to turn crimson. I gasped and looked away.

"Anyway," I continued, a huge lump in my throat, "To answer Miss Everglade's question, I have an acute sense of feeling pain from other people or things. Right now, the only pain I can feel is from this tree to which I'm tied to so, yah…" With that, I began the show.

I concentrated on all the details; the brown twigs hanging on by a limb, literally, the crumbled leaves around me in shades of tan. Everything I felt in the tree was dead, except for one, lonesome flower waiting for her brothers and sisters to bloom again. Concentrating on all that unwelcoming pain, I waited until my skin prickled. I saw the glow from my eyes, finally turning silver once more, and heard a mesmerized gasp from Jade.

My head looked upward and I smiled to myself as I saw the lonesome blossom not so lonely anymore. Little pink blossoms sprouted from the limbs, which had already corrected themselves. The joy spread over my face and suddenly thousands of little blossoms covered the tree. A cool breeze swept over me then, and the swaying branches of the cherry blossoms came with it. They curtained my body, and my brown hair wisped around my face.

A throat cleared loudly, and I turned to see Claire clasping a look of annoyance and iciness. I immediately peeked at Conner whose lightning eyes gazed into mine. I felt myself turning red in return and the swirling branches around me clung back to the tree. Just then, a harsh rustling came behind us and to our dismay, the lugs were coming this way. I could already feel the kids overworked feet ache but I couldn't help them because I was not near. If only my healing didn't have to touch the un-healed to make them feel better.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

We are walking again.

Like I predicted, all our feet hurt like crazy. Feeling the pain from the other kids, my head hung down in defeat, knowing that I couldn't do anything for them. I sent a healing wave to my own feet, but I could barely feel the pain now; my feet were so numb with exhaustion. I wish these guard dogs would let us stop again.

I thought back to when they came to get us. Once we realized the men were coming over to untie us, we prepared for the next measure of walking. They roughly untied the ropes binding us to our trees, and their even rougher hands pulled us up from our cramped sitting position. I began to stretch, but grubby fingers pulled my left shoulder back with enough force to snap my spine out of contortion. I gasped, but the man didn't care.

His head came down to my level and I fought the urge to spit in his face. The hand on my shoulder didn't release its cruel tension. As he began to speak, his breath swirled in my nose, and I coughed.

"I'd seen whets you did, back ther'. You'd better not do's it agains or else…" He stopped then to supposedly arrange some tone to his speech. Like that would do anything; his voice was so high with uncertainty. He shoved my shoulder harshly, releasing his grip. I stumbled but caught myself. Then he gazed around pointedly at the others.  
"In facts, why don't yer all not do anything's? Betcha wouldn't want to sees what happens, do yeh?" Even though his voice was squeaky and unsure, I knew he, and his friends, could hurt us. That's the last voice I heard for awhile.

So as we continued walking along this unbeaten path, I looked around me at the different plants and bushes. Anything to keep my mind occupied. I tried naming all the plants that crossed my path, and with me being crazy about science-naturally-I got almost all of them. Once, a strange kind of fern crossed my path but it looked nothing like the ones I'd ever seen. Must have been a cross breed or something…

The heat was taking a lot out of everybody too, not to mention the ground. I glanced down at the dried out grass. There were streaks of golden brown everywhere. Even though we were covered by the canopies of trees, there were the occasional holes in the trees where sunlight filtered through. I hated seeing the grass so out of tune, so every time I came across one, I stepped on it, healing it back to a lush emerald. For a long time, my eyes glowed sterling.

Listening to the birds, which were nowhere to be seen, I knew why they would be hiding. The big men's steps probably scared off everything around us. Each man probably weighed at least 250 pounds each. I wondered if they even had names. Another thought came into my head; where was the guy in charge? I looked around me, my eyes searching all the faces, but finding none that matched a leader. No one was leading, in fact. I hoped these men weren't planning on walking us to death; even dying for _that_ would seem useless. A shudder ripped through me at my last thought. The last thing that needed to be on my mind was death.

Maybe, I wondered, they do know where they're going. What if they had GPS's built in their head's? What if, after all this walking, we would just have to turn around and head in a different direction? But this wasn't a place for 'what if's'. We would all have to deal with what else might be ahead of us. Right now, our only hope was to overcome.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I found myself in blackness. At first, I was overwhelmed; where was the light? But then, I opened my eyes. I realized I must've dozed off at some point; the exhaustion, as I recall, swept over me like the passing of day. Expecting a bright haze of light, my eyes opened precariously. But I found more darkness, the darkness of night. There was no un-fluid bumping of being carried, and no scraping rhythm of me being dragged. I cautiously peeked around me, to find that I was lying on the ground, my hands tied awkwardly to a spruce tree.

There was a faint glow of a fire, sparks flying into the wall of night. Glancing over to the source of light, I saw all the men asleep except for one guard to watch us. He saw me looking at him, and gave a warning glance in my direction. I took the hint and turned back to the group. There were dark forms also lying on the forest floor. Everybody was asleep; except for Conner.

He was gazing at the stars, and he obviously didn't know I was awake. I studied him for a minute; his eyes never left the stars and I instantly wanted to know what he was thinking. I was very uncomfortable lying on the hard cold ground. Inching my way into a sitting position as quietly as I could was a hard thing to do. His head snapped down from the sky, his eyes tearing away from the stars above and at me. I froze up, and forgot to breathe.

He had caught me staring at him. The roses on my cheeks were becoming very frequent these days. I thought it of no use to just stay in my even more awkward position, so I slid into a more relaxed state and leaned against my tree. I didn't want to say anything so I waited till he did. It took him a minute.

"So. I guess you're awake." He said. _No, I just sleep with my eyes open_, I thought sarcastically. Was he reading my thoughts yet?

"Yah, I heard that." He smirked. This time, when he smirked, I didn't want to shake it off. I found I was beginning to like his smile…

"So, you like watching the stars?" I asked him, naturally curious. His features scrunched up a little bit, making a crease between his perfect blue eyes.

"Yes." He said this slowly, drawing it out like a question. Didn't give great answers, that boy. I was intent on learning more.

"Oh come on" I roused him with a smile. "_Why_ do you like watching the stars?" Now _that_ was a direct question. I had caught him now, no escaping my questionable wrath. I waited patiently while he composed his thoughts. Finally the silence broke.

"The stars; there's just so many of them. Whenever I look up at them, I feel that I'm not alone quit so much." He broke of as if he was embarrassed to say this. I thought about what he told me, and thought quietly to myself that he's not as alone as he thinks. I sighed and looked up at the millions of stars with him.

"They're beautiful." I told him simply. Just then, as he was about to say something in response, a shooting star crossed the disorganized jumble of stars. It lasted for only a second, but I knew, and I think Connor knew, what I'd be wishing of. _I hope we'll be safe, hope that we'll get out of here._ I closed my eyes to the starry jungle up there and turned my head to the fire. I heard Connor rustle about, so I waited for sleep to come over me

As my eyes shut themselves away from the dark, I heard the lone whisper that barely drifted on the soft wind. It was almost as if nothing was being said, and for a second I think I might have imagined how the words caressed the breeze and floated in my ear.

"Sweet dreams." It said. Soft and dreamlike, they wisped away with the wind covering the hard ground. And as my head swam to try to recover the lost words, my head fell into a sweet un-conciseness.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I was in the middle of a nice dream; my parents were there, my annoying older brother Derrick was there and even my two dogs, Rox and Sox- yes, very coordinated names-were there. Even though the ones I loved were beside me, the ones I had suddenly forgotten about, I couldn't keep my eyes from wandering even more lovingly to the stack of food sitting before me. There were all my favorites; chocolate chip cookies, hot dogs with all the dressings, and even a Big Mac were wafting in the scent of their own delicious smell. I was just about to take a long gulp of my lemonade when a heavy kick in my side drove me to conciseness.

I groaned and rolled over on my side, twisting my legs under me. Whoever this lug was, the one who kicked me, well, he was sure gonna get it. But then I opened my rage-filled eyes to see huge booted feet near my dirt smudged face. All my bravery drained out of me and I was yanked to my feet with another grumble. Everybody else was up and stretching, me being the last one up. We immediately started walking, but I was soon to be surprised at the amount we had to do...

We walked for an hour, drudging our feet along every minute. My brain was swelling with the heat of late summer full upon us. When was the walking going to end? But I heard a noise that brought joy to my ears. It started off as a low hum, getting louder every step. I recognized it as the swift sound of running water. Suddenly, the smoothness of the sound became louder than ever and it swelled and gurgled like a fountain. As this sweet music filled my ears, I looked up from my level stare at the ground to see a wall of hanging moss. It was thick; so thick I couldn't even see to the other side.

I turned to look questionably at Conner, down at the end of the row of kids. He stared back, shrugging as he too wondered about the blanket of moss. The sound was rushing up at us when suddenly it hit me: it was rushing, moving, flowing. A waterfall! I said it in my mind over and over again; maybe Conner would listen. I saw Conner nod in agreement from the corner of my eye. The hand holding me searched their back pocket for something, and as I turned around, he whipped something in my face: something soft, but rough. A rag?

"What's that…" I was about to say, when he through the rag around my eyes. Ah, not a rag. A blindfold. I waited patiently-but wondering what I need a blindfold for- as he tightened the scratchy material behind my eyes. I heard the others protesting slightly, and I heard Jade whimper softly. She couldn't deal with this, I thought. This must be toughest for her…

We had stopped fighting now; we just had to go along. There was a rustling sound and we were pushed through the moss curtain. Before, the waterfall had sound like music; now, I realized, it was almost unbearably loud, as if the curtain had been holding back all the sound.

_Well_, I thought as I felt some misty air sprinkle my skin, _here we go._


End file.
